Film Screening w/ Foreword

Thursday, April 30th
@7 pm in 26-100

[Foreword @7 pm] What Storytelling Can Do For YouFrom posting stories on MySpace, to winning $1M on Facebook, to fighting Ebola on Instagram, More Than Me is well versed in affecting change using social media. Learn from MTM’s Marketing Manager, Emily Bell, on how you can take your ideas from dream to reality.

[Reception @ 7:30 pm]Catered by Whole Foods. Munch on hors d’oeuvres and get the chance to talk with Emily in between events. Grab some popcorn and movie snacks before the film screening.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war. The women’s historic yet unsung achievement finds voice in a narrative that intersperses contemporary interviews, archival images, and scenes of present-day Liberia together to recount the experiences and memories of the women who were instrumental in bringing lasting peace to their country.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Emily Bell

Emily Bell is currently the Marketing and Development Manager for More than Me, an organization dedicated to educating and empowering girls from the West Point Slum in Liberia. She managed an effective US response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia through online fundraising, communications, and public relations. She has been quoted in Forbes, Mashable, PBS NewsHour, Girls Globe, Reddit AMA on Ebola, and Al Jazeera America Evening News. Before More than Me, she was a Marketing Coordinator at Wardrope for Opportunity in San Francisco. She graduated from Boston University Magna Cum Laude with a BS and a BA in Public Relations, International Relations, and French. She also studied abroad for a semester at the University of Grenoble and a semester in Bamako, Mali with School for International Training.

ABOUT THE FIlm: Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the extraordinary story of a small band of Liberian women who came together in the midst of a bloody civil war, took on the violent warlords and corrupt Charles Taylor regime, and won a long-awaited peace for their shattered country in 2003. As the rebel noose tightened upon Monrovia, and peace talks faced collapse, the women of Liberia – Christian and Muslims united – formed a thin but unshakable white line between the opposing forces, and successfully demanded an end to the fighting– armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions. In one remarkable scene, the women barricaded the site of stalled peace talks in Ghana, and announced they would not move until a deal was done. Faced with eviction, they invoked the most powerful weapon in their arsenal – threatening to remove their clothes. It worked. The women of Liberia are living proof that moral courage and non-violent resistance can succeed, even where the best efforts of traditional diplomacy have failed. Their demonstrations culminated in the exile of Charles Taylor and the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state, and marked the vanguard of a new wave of women taking control of their political destiny around the world. This remarkable chapter of world history was on its way to being lost forever. The Liberian war and peace movement were largely ignored as the international press focused on Iraq. Moreover, the women’s own modesty helped obscure this great accomplishment. Pray the Devil Back to Hell reconstructs the moment through interviews, archival footage and striking images of contemporary Liberia. It is compelling testimony to the potential of women worldwide to alter the history of nations

About GW@MIT

Graduate Women at MIT (GW@MIT) is an institute-wide, student-led group founded in 2009. Our mission is to promote the personal and professional development of MIT's graduate women.

About the Conference

The Spring Empowerment Conference seeks to provide resources for and promote discussion of issues relevant to the life choices of graduate women. Our theme this year is "Speak Out Speak Up." Many of the events center around women who have (in some way) stood up for themselves or something in which they believe.

Get Involved

Want to help out? Shoot us an email at gotempowerment@mit.edu telling us a bit about yourself. We'd love to meet you!